Gather Poets

Lauren Rich is a poet and a social worker from the Chicagoland area. Lauren writes a lot about girl/womanhood, relationships, and female rage. She is working on her first poetry manuscript which investigates how one can be both prey and predator, destroyed and defiant, harmed and harmful. The collection explores integrating one’s damage while refusing victimhood and redemption. Connect with Lauren on Instagram @laurenrichwrites.

Allison Mei-Li is a poet, mother, and speech therapist living in California. Her writing has appeared in journals such as Rust & Moth, MER Literary, Voicemail Poems, and Wildscape. She was recently shortlisted for poetry prizes by Central Avenue and The Alpine Fellowship. To learn more about her forthcoming collection, visit writtenbyallison.com or connect with her on IG @writtenbyallison.

Elise Powers received a BA in English Literature from Western Washington University. Her poems reflect on identity, womanhood, and the ordinary moments that make up a life. Her work has appeared in literary magazines and anthologies including Gather and Only Poems, and has been shortlisted for the Central Avenue Poetry Prize, awarded second place in the Black Horse Review Poetry Contest, and nominated for the Best of the Net Anthology. Her debut poetry collection, The Size of Your Joy, is forthcoming from Central Avenue Publishing in spring 2026. She lives in Seattle with her husband and daughter, where she writes, collects sea glass, and savors life’s tender joys. Find more of her work on Instagram @elisepowerspoet and on Substack at Two Raw Sugars.Michelle Halket is the Publisher of Central Avenue, a small-but-mighty press of poetry and fiction, and a proud techno- and bibliophile with a background in economic and market research. After seventeen years at the helm of Central Avenue, she is happily immersed in words, paper stock, and devices of all kinds. She’s the sort of person who asks a lot of questions, tries most things at least once, keeps a growing collection of started-but-unfinished projects, and does her best to learn something useful from every misstep along the way.

jp thorn is a queer, neurodivergent artist raised in & returned to the bible belt. advocate for destigmatization & radically open communication, their work is inspired by humanness, reframing traditionalism, therapeutic processes, unlearning patriarchy, identity, & global patterns. they’re also a pushcart & best of the net 2025 nominee. you can find more of their works at www.thorn.jp​

Bri Gearhart Staton (she/her) is a South Dakota poet whose writing explores experiences that exist in the periphery. Bri’s poetry has been published by Button Poetry, FLARE, Wildscape, The Page Gallery Journal, Livina Press, and in a number of anthologies, including the Gather anthology. A mother of two, her objectively hilarious children are the joys of her heart. Connect with her on Instagram @bristaton.writes

Karan Kapoor is the Editor-in-Chief of Strange Pilgrims and ONLY POEMS. His poems have appeared in Best New Poets, AGNI, Shenandoah, North American Review, and elsewhere. He’s on the editorial board of Alice James Books.

Nicole Zwolinski is the author of the forthcoming poetry collection, Motherhead. This is her first full-length book, and it will be published in summer 2026 by Finishing Line Press.​She has been published in the Feminine Collective, Firewords Quarterly, Alternate Routes, Effemera, the first Gather anthology and more. Nicole is an alumna of the Tupelo Press 30/30 Project. She was shortlisted for the Central Avenue Poetry prize and will have two poems featured in their 2026 anthology.

Alexa Brockamp Hoggatt is a poet and programmer from Tacoma, Washington. Her poems have been published in Sky Island Journal, Beyond Words Literary Magazine, and Strait Up Magazine, as well as a collection called “Voices of Tacoma”, published in collaboration with the City of Tacoma Arts Commission. She was selected as a Garden Poet for Lakewold Gardens’ 2024 ‘Poetry in the Garden’ event.Although there is endless machine to rage against, Alexa writes poetry as a sort of running list of reasons humans deserve to go on existing: The tenderness, the shared experience, the soft parts. Her dad woke up every morning after coughing through the night from breathing sand and dust at work and said “It’s another perfect day” and that is what she wants her poems to say: Even if you have sand in your lungs, it’s another perfect day.

Sarah Frost is a poet whose work wanders through time and place, currently based in Juneau, Alaska. She has been published in Beyond Words, Last Leaves, Palindrome Journal and Corporeal literary magazines. You can find her on Instagram @fromthenotesapp.gatherpoets.com

Kassandra Vilchis is a poet based in Minnesota. Her work thoughtfully examines themes of grief, womanhood, and generational relationships. She was recently short-listed for the 2026 Central Avenue Poetry Prize. Her writing appears in Bending Genres Journal, Rowayat, The Passion Fruit Review, Effemera zine, Roots & Ruins anthology and the Upon Learning anthology. Outside of writing, she spends time with her dog, Thor and is dramatically lactose intolerant. You can find her on Instagram @kassandra.vilchis and curating notes for you on Substack  @KASSANDRAVILCHIS-g7w  gatherpoets.com

Hosted by Hannah Levy (@hnnhlvy)In this engaging conversation, Hannah Levy speaks with Jillian Stacia and Jo Krieg about the journey of publishing Jillian's poetry collection, "Set the Bone." Jillian shares her initial inspiration for writing poetry, which stemmed from a desire for creative expression rather than a goal of publishing a book. As she developed her craft and joined the Gather community, she found herself inspired to compile her poems into a collection, particularly after a pivotal moment involving a poem that encapsulated generational trauma. Jo, as the publisher, recounts her excitement upon receiving Jillian's manuscript and highlights the unique energy and interconnected themes present throughout the collection, emphasizing the importance of authenticity in poetry.Preorder Jill's book: arcanapoetrypress.comgatherpoets.com@gatherpoets on IG

Amiel Katz (she/her) is a Salvadoran poet from Houston, Texas. She roots her writing in historical research and (re)imagines just futures for migrants and marginalized identities. Her work is featured in Nowhere Girl Collective and is forthcoming in Horizon Review and Bat City Review. You can find her on Substack @philomath4. Gatherpoets.com@gatherpoets on Instagram

Kelly Green writes an average of twelvepoems a day, most between the hoursof one and fi ve a.m. She used to writeessays but now can’t stop writing poetry.She has written a miniature memoir onfood and class; she prays to god it will bepublished before she dies. She loves dogsmore than anything on this sweet earthand loves being lost. Best day ever: lostfor hours, continually running into dogs.gatherpoets.com@gatherpoets on Instagram

This podcast episode features a conversation with Dré, who shares a powerful poem exploring themes of generational trauma, religion, and personal empowerment. The discussion delves into the creative process behind the poem and the transformative power of poetry as a means to confront and release inherited burdens.Dré is a queer Mexican-French Canadian poet, alchemist, and herbal bruja who loves wildlife, moon-bathing, and dismantling oppressive systems. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in SWWIM, PRISM international, Gnashing Teeth, wildscape.lit, Gather Literary Magazine, and Arte y Literatura Hispanocanadiense Anthology. She is currently working on her debut poetry collection.Gatherpoets.com@gatherpoets on Instagram

Hannah Rosenberg is a poet whose work has been shared widely online, and she has been featured in publications serving women and parents like Darling and In Kind. She lives in the greater Philadelphia area with her husband and daughter, who often find themselves as the subjects of her poems. You can find her work on Instagram @hannahrowrites.Order Same: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/same-9781250393807/

Helen Billett is a writer and artist who finds inspiration perched above the Scarborough Bluffs in Toronto’s ravine-filled east end. She shares her home with her husband, two children, and their wonderfully complicated dog, Chewbacca. Her debut poetry collection, Cliffs and Cathedrals, explores unraveling trauma and reclaiming joy through art.Gatherpoets.com

Carlos Fernando Bravo Meneses is an emerging Mexican poet and psychologist that yearns to find community through poetry. You can find him on Instagram @flordeyermo. He promises he will answer.Gatherpoets.com

30-year-old teacher by day, poet at heart from South Africa now based in Cyprus. Writing has always been a part of my life, starting off with short stories until I found my passion in poetry.There is something cathartic about putting ‘big emotions’ into as little space as possible that helps me realise it’s not that big after all - and it’s not just me feeling it. That’s why I write, to make it make sense and to remind me that this is all just part of being human. I have never been good at small talk, so I bleed onto paper to make sense of the weather and my mood and everyday things in life. Poetry has always been my ‘safe house’ to explore the corners of my (often too busy) mind. It’s where I go to make things quiet.GatherPoets.com

Sukriti Patny is a writer and poet based in India who’s turned to the words in a flailing attempt to stay sane. She spends her time overthinking everything, writing confessional poems on the gorgeous mess we find in our insides, and exploring the many ways in which nature, unresolved feelings and everyday ordinary things leave her awestruck. You can find her poetry and personal essays on Instagram @wordsbysu and on Substack: Soul GazingGatherpoets.com

Annalise Parady is a poet and a social worker. She was born and rooted in Wyoming, but currently lives, writes, and grieves in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. Her work has been published in Sonora Review and Corporeal Lit Mag. Annalise is available to tell you about the creatures and plants of the desert on Instagram @annalisewrites and on Substack: Third Place Poetry. She also runs a poetry community for people processing grief and loss called Grief House.Gatherpoets.com

Mary Geschwindt (she/her) loves bicycles, sheep, clouds, and the color purple, in that order. With a background in architecture and urban planning, she can’t escape the metaphor of construction in poetry and poetry in construction. A transportation planner by day, poet by night, Mary is always looking for poetry in the movement of the city. She currently writes and bikes around NYC. Her poems have been published in the Harvard Urban Review and Rookie Mag.

Mary is a poet, mother, sister, daughter, friend, and novice (but enthusiastic) birder. She is continuously inspired by the natural world and loathes being indoors. She self-published her first collection of nature-focused poetry, "This Wild Heart Inside Me," in the summer of 2024. You can find her on Instagram along with a link to purchase her book—@wordsinwaiting.Gatherpoets.com

Hannah Levy is a poet and editor living in Northern California. She has been published in Variant Literature, Sunday Mornings at the River, Indie Earth Publishing, Rhizo Magazine, and elsewhere. She's also the founder of The Rebis, an annual tarot-themed print anthology. When she’s not typing little words on a screen, she’s horseback riding, walking in the redwoods, making art, and playing extensive make-believe games with her daughter. You can read her writing at hannaheve.substack.comGatherPoets.com

ali cat is a New Jersey-based writer, artist, and community organizer. They are a contributingpoetry editor for The Selkie, and their most recent work can be found in SURviving Scandoval, aVanderpump Rules-themed poetry anthology published by Pink Plastic Press. When not writingon company time, they’re yapping about gender, imagining a better world with their friends, andhaving staring contests with their pet rabbit.gatherpoets.com

Alina Kalontarov is a teacher of English literature and Humanities in New York City. Whether in the classroom or through her poetry and photography, she hopes to inspire people to find their unique voice and vision in the increasingly myopic noise machine of the world. Her poems have found homes in various literary journals and anthologies including Sky Island Journal, Thimble Literary Magazine, Sand Hills, Prosetrics, Last Leaves, Wild Roof, boats against the current, Querencia Press and others. You can check out more about her relationship to writing in this Scribeworth interview and find some of her work on her instagram @alinakay66.

Tanja Lau and I dive into what it means to truly "optimize" for what you desire, both in poetry journey, but also in life. Tanja Lau believes life should have more plot twists, fewer alarms, and at least one epic soundtrack moment per day. She studied Comparative Literature before venturing into entrepreneurship. With German-Italian roots, Tanja now calls Switzerland home (three words: mountains, cheese, chocolate...). As a mother of two, she finds joy in crafting stories for children and eagerly anticipates the release of her first children’s book in 2026. Most of her poetry takes shape on her runs as she searches for the meaning of life—or perhaps just her keys. Gatherpoets.com | @gatherpoets

Alex Dawson is a writer, wildlife photographer and adult ESL teacher from Toronto. She published a photo-poetry book entitled “All these Living Things” last year, which landed at #2 in nature poetry on Amazon’s Bestseller List. She has been published by Queen’s Quarterly, The Bombay Literary Magazine and Humana Obscurara. More of her writing can be found on Instagram and Substack @alexdawcreates.Join the Gather community: gatherpoets.com

We welcome Jillian Stacia to the Gather Poets Pod to discuss motherhood and creativity, creative entrepreneurship, and how to stay motivated as a poet.Jillian Stacia wants to live in a world where the coffee is bottomless and the sweatpants are mandatory. She spends her days crafting creative copy for clients in numerous industries and is best known for her work in Children's Programming. Her poetry and creative nonfiction essays have been featured in Querencia Press, Plentitude Journal, Coffee & Crumbs, and Voicemail Poems. When she's not writing, Jillian can be found snuggling with her two adorable children and cheering on the Baltimore Ravens. Connect with her on Instagram: @jillianstacia Discover Gather Poets: gatherpoets.com

We welcome Isabelle Correa to our inaugural episode of Gather Poets Pod to discuss her forthcoming collection Good Girl And Other Yearnings, coming April 18th with Write Bloody Publishing.Isabelle Correa is a poet from Washington state now living in Mexico City. She studied creative writing at Western Washington University, is the winner of the 2024 Jack McCarthy Book Prize with Write Bloody Publishing, a Pushcart Prize nominee, and the author of the chapbook Sex is From Mars But I Love You From Venus. Her work has appeared in Pank, Third Point Press, The Rebis, and more. Find her on Instagram: @isabellecorreawrites and on Substack: A Poem Is A Place.Discover Gather Poets: gatherpoets.com